1. Field of the Invention
A terminal block for an electrical power and signal distribution system is disclosed including internal bus connector means that are removably supported on the terminal block for connecting the conductors of the distribution system with the circuits of a printed circuit board removably mounted on the terminal block, and/or with the various terminals of an adjacent terminal block. The terminal blocks are mounted on a common support rail, and the internal bus conductor means of each terminal block are mounted orthoganally of the terminal block and parallel with the support rail.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A typical bus conductor section for an electrical appliance is known from European Patent Application No. EP 95 113 729 A2 (now European Patent No. 709,932). In the appliance shown in this patent, where the internal bus conductor section is made as a continuous thin plate with strip conductors applied thereupon, terminal blocks that can be lined up on support rails are used for the purpose of signal adaptation between a superordinate field bus and initiators, field units or the like that are connected to the terminal blocks. The terminal blocks are assembled as connection or module blocks with different functions; here, we distinguish between protective conductor discs, feed-in discs, supply/signal conductor discs and notch foot discs. One or several terminal blocks can be connected via the internal bus conductor with a connecting module for the field bus.
The internal bus conductor section of this solution entails the following problem: In case of a randomly long lineup of module discs and module blocks of various types within the connecting module, there will not be enough versatility.
Other terminal block electrical distribution systems are shown and described in the prior U.S. patents to Strate et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,356, Frikkee et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,461, Horn et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,417, and Eggert et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,881, which are assigned to the same assignee as that of the present invention.
The present invention is intended to solve this problem in a simple, space-saving manner through design and structure.